Sunday, August 22, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(QB Tua Tagovailoa and RB Myles Gaskin both said after the game how it was a point of emphasis this week for the offense to push the pace, get set up quickly. Want to know what makes that so important for the offense and what that does.) – “I just think it’s always good to get in and out of the huddle, know your alignment, know your assignment so you can handle your responsibility. That’s just a point of emphasis really every week. I think offensively and defensively and in the kicking game we talked about that. We talked about that being the first part of having good execution of the play, so I think players took to that and tried to execute that. I thought we did a solid job of that last night.”
(This preseason you guys have been able to get a lot of work for some guys who I think will play a lot of ball this season. I was just curious how you balance getting enough tape for you and your staff to evaluate versus putting too much out there for regular season opponents?) – “I think we try to practice the things that we think that we’ll end up using and working throughout the season. That’s a variety of things, but they’re mostly based on those fundamentals and techniques at guys’ different positions – schemes and core concepts that we’ll run offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. And then I think throughout the season, what you end up doing is running those core concepts and they just look a little different. You just dress them up a little differently so that’s what you’re going to see in the preseason – core concepts, really from every team. We’re no different and I think how you dress those things up throughout the season, I think every team does that in some way whether it’s with shifts or motions or whatever they feel is best for them and we’ll do the same.”
(So much was going right last night for the team. I wonder if the game in Cincinnati might be more of an opportunity to look at guys who might be on the bubble before final roster cuts. What are your thoughts on that?) – “I think we’re still kind of going through last night’s film. Haven’t really thought about what we’re going to do next week, who’s going to play, how much. We’ll meet about that a little bit tonight. Probably formulate a plan on that throughout the week. But playing in those games is important and the guys who are on the bubble or close – those guys will play. How much is just – we haven’t gotten to that yet.”
(I have a two-part question for you. Obviously G Durval Queiroz Neto got his opportunity last night and I want to know your thoughts on his performance late in the game. Also, I wanted to ask you as a coach, how satisfying is it to see a player that has been working for four years finally being able to compete at this level after everything that he went through?) – “Durval, he’s worked extremely hard for his opportunity – the opportunity to play last night. I thought he played well. I thought he went in, knew what he had to do, knew who he had to block, blocked them, played with great energy. He always plays with passion and energy. I’m proud of him. I’m proud of all the work he’s put in. I remember when he first got here and football was new to him and he’s really grown and done a nice job of learning the system, of learning a new position. He’s a great teammate, practices hard and he’s a tough kid. I was happy to see him get in there and expect to see him get in there a little bit more next week.”
(I want to help you sell some tickets. Based on what you’ve seen in camp including two preseason games now, how optimistic are you that this team can take a step forward this year?) – “I never step too far away from my one-day-at-a-time approach. I’m not going to change that now. It’s kind of been my way of kind of going about things my entire life, so I think I’m focused on today – trying to get better today, trying to improve today. That’s my message to the team and I think as long as we take that approach, we give ourselves an opportunity to improve, get better and we’ll let the results take care of themselves.”
(While you may be undecided on who you’ll play and how much they’ll play, even if you end up resting guys if WR DeVante Parker, WR Will Fuller, WR Albert Wilson, maybe WR Preston Williams can go – how much would you value them getting their first preseason reps versus just assuring you don’t put them at risk before Week 1?) – “It’s always good to get reps. It’s always good to get some game action and those guys are working to get back as soon as they can. We’ll see what practice looks like this week. If they can string together a couple good days of practice, then we’ll talk about them playing in the game, but as of right now those guys are just working to get back quickly as they can.”
(T Liam Eichenberg got a lot of playing time last night. After reviewing the film, what are some of the things you’ve noticed?) – “He did some good things. There are some things he can improve on. He’s moved around, he played a few positions – last night he was at tackle. I thought he did well, but there are definitely a lot of scenarios where he can get better. They are watching the film right now. I know ‘Lem’ (Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre) is making the corrections with him. He’s a hard-working kid, so he’ll work hard to make the corrections and hopefully get another opportunity to improve this week during practice and we’ll see what next week looks like.”
(It seemed QB Tua Tagovailoa’s decision-making yesterday seemed much faster than it was last year. The reads were quicker. Is that something that comes with more game reps? How do you continue to grow a guy in year two to make good fast decisions?) – “I think reps is a part of it. I think studying the game film is a part of it. I think practice reps is a part of that. I think Tua has put a lot of time and energy into his craft. I think that making good decisions and quick decisions is something that he’s worked on and wants to do that for this team. It’s good to see him go out there and do that last night. Now it’s about doing that on a consistent basis.”
(Just two penalties in the game last night. I was curious to see how much pride you and your staff take in the fact that you can play so many guys in different line-up changes and only commit two penalties the entire night?) – “I hope you’re not jinxing us there. (laughter) We talk about trying to play penalty free. We spend a lot of time on it. We don’t want to go backwards. We want to go forward with the ball. We don’t want to give up yardage with penalties defensively or in the kicking game. We try to play within the rules, play aggressive and physical and with poise. Hopefully we can continue to do that. Penalties happen, but we try to eliminate them as much as we can.”
(I know you did a lot in the scouting realm, I’m curious how much you can look into the other teams – whether it’s the Falcons or other teams – for roster cuts at this point in the offseason?) – “I really let (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and his staff handle that. My focus is on this team and coaching the players on this team. I think when you have joint practices like we had last week, and you get to watch all of the practice film, a couple of guys catch your eye; but for the most part I let Chris and his staff handle that. They handle that.”
